


Jeremy goes to school

by beatleing



Category: Poldark (TV 2015), Poldark - All Media Types
Genre: Canon - Book, Canon - TV, F/M, Post S4, Post-Book 7: The Angry Tide, romelza - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 04:15:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12999642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beatleing/pseuds/beatleing
Summary: The day has come when Jeremy must leave Nampara and go to school. With her son away from home and Ross in London, Demelza is not very happy. A story of Romelza after Season 4. Beware of SPOILERS!





	Jeremy goes to school

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Jeremy se va al Colegio](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12870903) by [beatleing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beatleing/pseuds/beatleing). 



> This is the English version of a little something I wrote a few weeks ago. Hope you like it.
> 
> Beta'd by the wonderful Ladymadchan. Always thank you for taking the time to help me with this <3

The day had arrived. Jeremy would go to school.

Demelza was saying goodbye to him in the rustic entrance of Nampara. A tutor had come to fetch him in a carriage to take him to an institution in Devon. "At least he’s not going to Harrow", Demelza told herself. She had argued with Ross a few years ago, when he’d told her that their oldest son should go to school when he turned eight years old. She had objected saying that he was still very young and that she could take care of his education.  When he was older they could hire a tutor or governess to teach him at home, but Ross did not like the idea. He wanted him to go to a good school and receive the best education he could provide.

Harrow was his first choice, one of the best schools in the country.  It was where great politicians and important men had studied, and where most of the boys of the influential families of Great Britain went. But even so, Demelza had strongly opposed, arguing that since when had Ross wanted his son to go off with the wealthy and upper classes.  She also said that Harrow was too far away, that if Jeremy went there, she would not see him more than a couple of times every six months and that he was still too young to be so far from home.

Of course Demelza knew that what Ross wanted was the best for Jeremy, but since things were not quite right between them at that time, Ross let his wife get away with it. But she knew that he still hadn’t given up and a couple of months ago, after Jeremy's eleventh birthday, Ross had insisted on the subject.

The only consolation for Demelza was that, at least, the boy would not go to Harrow.  He would go to a boarding school in Devon, which was not so far away, and he could return home a couple of times a month.

_'You'll be a good boy, won't you Jeremy?'_ \- Demelza said as she kissed his cheeks and adjusted the handkerchief around his neck. - _'Remember that any problem you have you can tell Mr. Abney and he can fix it.'_

_'Dad told me that I should face my problems alone.'_ \- Jeremy replied.

_'Well, but dad is not here now and you will do as I say, sweetheart. But, but also remember his advice, just… just be a good child and everything will be fine.'_

_'Yes mom, I will behave. And don’t worry, dad taught me how to defend myself.'_

"I can imagine how your father taught you to defend yourself"- Demelza thought. From the step of the carriage, Jeremy said goodbye to Clowance and Prudie, who were holding hands at the door of the house, and then again received his mother's kisses.

_'Goodbye sweetheart, don’t forget to write to me. Goodbye love.'_

Prudie and Clowance entered the house at once, but Demelza watched the carriage go for a while. When it reached the edge of the apple trees, before turning north and getting out of sight behind the trees, Jeremy pulled his body out of the window and waved to his mother from the distance. Demelza also raised her hand to say goodbye one last time and once she could no longer see the carriage dried her tears with the handkerchief she kept in one of her sleeves.

It’s silly, she told herself, to make such a scene just because the boy was going to school. If Ross were here, he would surely accuse her and say that she spoiled him too much and that she was exaggerating. After all, she would see him again on Easter and that was just less than five weeks away. But Ross was not there with her, and Demelza allowed herself to shed a few more tears before returning inside.

She felt so much emptiness. Jeremy had always been with her and, although she still had Clowance, the girl was much more independent than her older brother. In that very same moment she could hear her reading a book in her room. Surely she would have lined up all his dolls on the bed and would have convinced Prudie to stay and hear her too. In the last few days she had been happy that she would have the room and her mother all to herself. While the two of them used to do a lot of things together, Clowance was always easily distracted and she soon forgot what they were doing and was jumping and running around, while Jeremy always stayed with her instead.

They both shared a love for earthly things, the countryside, the garden and the animals. Jeremy always helped her to tend the farm and lately also the mine. Ross used to take him to the tunnels and teach him the different types of rocks. Jeremy learned quickly and soon he could identify the poor veins from the promising ones so, in the absence of his father, he helped her decide which mineral streaks to follow. "He had it in his blood." as Zacky Martin used to say.

Maybe that was it. Demelza missed the presence of a Poldark in the house. Jeremy had been with her during those months when his parents had been estranged so many years ago. He was her consolation and her company in the absence of Ross, and it continued to be so now that Ross was in Parliament. Without Ross and without Jeremy in Nampara, Demelza felt lonely and unprotected. Ross's voice resounded in her head, "Jeremy is just a child and he cannot protect you." It was true. But it was also true that his father's blood flowed in Jeremy and in being close to him, Demelza felt that a part of Ross was also there. Nonsense, Ross would say it was nonsense. 

 

* * *

 

Ross was returning to Cornwall sooner than expected. He had written to Demelza telling her that he would return for the Easter recess. But that was still more than a week away and he was already galloping over the lands of Nampara. He had refused a room in the Red Lion in the middle of the night and instead had borrowed a horse to go to his house immediately. It was barely dawn when he entered his home.

The house was silent and in darkness. He barely caught sight of Garrick raising his head from the place where he slept by the fireplace. Ross climbed the stairs quickly but tried to make as little noise as possible. He could not wait to lie down next to Demelza. During the trip, he had thought about the reunion with his wife. How he would find her sleeping and he would crawl under the blankets and take her in his arms and bury his face in her hair and breathe in her scent. These long separations made him anxious. Even if it was only a couple of months since he was last in Nampara, even when communication was fluid through correspondence, he still wanted to be home.

But when he opened the bedroom door he found the bed empty. "Strange" -he thought. He then went to the children's room but nobody was there either. _'Garrick.'_ He called, and the obedient dog was by his side in a moment. _'Where is your mistress?'_

The dog gave a couple of barks that Ross could not understand and returned to the ground floor wagging his tail. He was still surprised at how grateful he felt having the dog there. Of course he could not understand if Garrick really wanted to say something, as Demelza claimed, but something about seeing him and feeling him calm, reassured Ross.

He no longer so stealthily went down the stairs again. _'Prudie!'_ \- He shouted in the direction of his servant's room. Ross heard some noise and murmuring behind the door and a moment later it was not Prudie who appeared, but Tholly.

_'Young Cap! What brings you so early to these remote lands?’_ Said Tholly, with the hook he carried for a hand in the air and still a little dizzy from the drunkenness of the night before.

_'Tholly... I'd better now have to ask you what you are doing here. Where are the ladies of the house?'_  While Ross was hugging his friend, Prudie came out of her room adjusting her skirt.

Ross looked at them suspiciously. "I guess Jud will not have the right to complain if he comes back after so long."

_'Captain Ross!'_ \- said Prudie - _'We didn’t expect ‘ee for another week...'_

_'I can see that.'_ \- he ironically replied looking back at Tholly. _'Where is Demelza?'_

_'Miss Demelza and the little one are in Killewarren, Captain.'_

_'So early?'_

_'Oh no. They’ve been there since last Friday.'_ Prudie informed him.

_'And what the hell are they doing there for so many days?'_ He asked seriously.

_'I don’t know. ‘Ee better to ask the Mistress.'_

Ross shook his head. He knew that Prudie knew what Demelza was doing. But he also knew that she wasn’t going to tell him. He could not remember at what moment those two became so close. And Prudie, who had never in her life had shown respect for anything but a bottle of wine, had become the closest confidant of his wife.

_'Well, do not have the slightest doubt that I will. Now prepare breakfast. And Tholly, since you're leaving, go to Killewarren and tell my wife that I've arrived home.'_

 

* * *

 

After having breakfast with Prudie, Ross tried to sleep for a couple of hours. It was still early and the trip had been long and exhausting. Now he was regretting not having stayed at Sawle, even if it was until morning. If he had only known that Demelza was not going to be there when he arrived. It was not the first time she’d stayed with Caroline. But he was surprised that she had stood there for so many days. Usually, when they stayed at Killewarren it was because they were late after a dinner with their friends.  Caroline always had the guest room ready for them to spend the night and return home after breakfast. But, according to Prudie, it had been three days since his women had left and Ross wondered if Demelza was used to spending so much time out of Nampara when he was not at home.

He had hardly been able to sleep at all when, in the middle of the morning, he heard Tholly's voice through the window. Ross got up immediately and went down to the parlour expecting to find his family, but Garrick was the only one there.

_'You're getting old, Garrick. Remember when you used to chase rabbits in the fields?'_

The dog just rested his head on his legs and said no more. Ross shook his head and decided that one of these days he should go hunting rabbits himself, otherwise they would become a pest. Too bad Jeremy was not there to go with him.

_'What did Tholly say?'_ He asked his maid as he entered the kitchen.

_'He said he told the Mistress that ‘ee are here. And that Miss Demelza thanked him for going t’ tell her.'_

_'And?'_

_'And what?'_

_'And what else? Didn’t she say when she would return or send a note?'_

_'Well, I told ‘ee everything that good-for-nothing said t’ me. Surely the Mistress is busy and will come when she can. We didn’t expect ‘ee for another week, Captain. ‘Ee cannot expect everyone t’ stop what they’re doin’ and come running to tend ‘ee.'_

Ross sighed in exasperation and said pointing a finger at her: _'Prudie, I remind you that I am the master of this house, so take care of your tongue with me. Demelza may be permissive with you but I do not have her patience. So take care of what you say. I'll go for a walk through the fields, let me know when the girls arrive.'_

Prudie responded with a _'Yes sur'_ , but when Ross left she added: _'"Master of the house”, yes, of course.'_

 

* * *

 

Ross returned to Nampara past noon, Prudie had lunch ready for him. He had walked through the fields of Nampara during the morning, starting with his own farm and Demelza’s garden, which, with the first days of spring, had bloomed with the brightest colors. Also the orchard was full of green leaves and vegetables and the animals looked fat and full. He also noticed that the cow was pregnant. The sown land was on track, the trees that they planted a few years ago were getting bigger and protected the plantations from the cold wind coming from the sea. Ross had also approached the stone wall at the edge of the apple trees where Demelza used to plant the strawberries so that the sea air wouldn’t reach them. He had bent down to pick up some, ate a couple, and brought the others to eat with the girls after lunch.

But Demelza and Clowance did not come for lunch and Ross forgot the strawberries. He thought of going to Killewarren after his meal. But it was most likely that they left after lunch and if that was the case they would cross each other on the way. So he continued his afternoon in the library, checking the bank books and the progress of the mine, apparently they had found a new vein of tin.

When the afternoon began to fall, Ross began to worry. He went back to the stable to check the horses. They were all there, surely Caroline had sent her carriage to look for them and it would surely bring them back. He’d have to have a conversation with her too. It was not proper for her to take Demelza away from her home for so long. He saddled Sheridan to fetch them, Darkie wasn’t  young enough to gallop fast. He went back into the house to grab his coat and from the room he heard the sound of hooves approaching. He quickly removed the coat and the neckcloth from his neck again. He did not know why but he didn’t want Demelza to find him ready to go out to look for her.

Going down to the living room, Garrick was already barking by the door while Clowance got out of the carriage giving little jumps. _'Dad!'_ \- she shouted when she saw him and ran to him with her arms raised for him to lift her up. While greeting his daughter, he saw Demelza enter carrying two suitcases, laid them on the floor and removed her capeline while Garrick leaned on her on two legs as if he were a puppy. Demelza hung her hat behind the door and stroked the head of the dog that stopped barking and went back to rest by the fireplace.

Ross could no longer hold Clowance with one arm, the girl seemed to grow in an exaggerated way every time he was away from home. Demelza, taking advantage of the fact that Ross had both arms occupied, approached him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Ross, distracted by his daughter talking to him, was not fast enough to turn his head and couldn’t kiss her on the lips.

_'We did not expect you until next week, Ross.'_ \- Demelza said as she began to remove the pins from her hair.

_'Yes, the vote went earlier and they did not need me in London anymore, so I thought to surprise you and come without warning. I’m sorry if I interrupted some plan. Where were you?’_

Ross went to sit in one of the armchairs by the fire. Demelza poured a couple of glasses of port, gave one to him and sat on the opposite chair.

_'In Killewarren, Prudie must have told you. Caroline invited us to stay a few days. You know how Clowance likes to play with Sophie and Meliora.'_

_'Yes, they are so pretty!'_ Said Clowance, who had sat on her father's knees. _'Aunt Caroline dresses them the same way, but I can tell who is who.'_

_'Are the girls okay?'_ \- Ross asked Demelza.

_'Fortunately, yes. I don’t know if having a father doctor helps them or not. Sometimes I think Dwight worries too much, but after Sarah... well, I think it's logical. I also worried about Jeremy…'_

Demelza was silent for a moment, a bad memory had passed through her mind, but soon she recovered and changed the subject.

_'How was your trip?'_

The three talked for a while. Ross telling her the news of Parliament and Demelza about the household and his friends. While Ross was happy that they were finally home, something in Demelza's attitude was odd. She talked kindly and answered his questions while smiling at Garrick who, from time to time, licked the palm of her hand. He did not know why but it seemed to him that she was showing more affection for the dog than for her own husband.

As dinner time approached Demelza said: _'I'll go help Prudie.'_ As she passed by Ross’s side, he took her wrist and asked her in an affectionate tone: _'And you, my dear, are you alright?'_

_'Yes, Ross. Everything is fine.'_ -she said and hurried to the kitchen.

But Ross knew Demelza, knew her tones of voice and knew when something afflicted her. He had learned it in the worst way, when his sweet wife had changed her smiling and sweet tone to a cold and distant one. And while now it was far from resembling those times, he knew something was bothering her.

 

* * *

 

The four of them, Ross, Demelza, Clowance and Prudie, finally dined together as a family, as Ross wanted to do it every time he ate alone or in a pub in London. He made a comment about that and Demelza replied that the family was not complete, Jeremy was missing.

_'He wrote to me last week, he sends you his regards. He has already made some friends.'_ She continued saying.

_'I know. I met them when I went to see him.'_ \- Ross said, with the spoon full of soup suspended in front of his face.

_'When did you go to see him?'_

_'A couple of days ago. When I passed by Devon I stopped to say hello. He sends you his love.'_ He told her smiling, but Demelza did not smile back, just stared at him.

_'I thought you said we could not visit him.'_ Demelza said after a while.

Ross, who was already finishing his bowl of soup, answered with a piece of bread in his mouth, _'I said you should not visit him so soon.'_

_'But you can?'_

_'It's different, I'm his father.'_

Prudie, who had not yet finished eating and had been looking attentively to one side and to the other to her two masters, stood up suddenly and began to pick up the dishes. _'Help me bring the dessert Miss Clowance.'_ She told the girl and she got up from the table too.

_'How is it different?'_

Ross shrugged. _'I am a man and it is different for a child when his mother visits him, it doesn’t… it does not make him look good in front of the other children.'_

_'But if his father, a member of Parliament, goes to see him only a few weeks after he started school, that does make him look good?'_

Ross raised his shoulders again. _'Yes, if you put it that way, I suppose so. Also, I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to him when he left here and Devon was on my way. He is fine, he is content and you will see him in a few days. '_

Prudie and Clowance returned to the parlour with an apple pie and some cream. They all finished dinner and did not talk about Jeremy anymore.

Later, after reading a story to Clowance and after she fell asleep, Ross found Demelza in the kitchen washing the dishes. He silently crept up behind her and without her noticing him, swiftly took her by the waist and kissed her on the neck. Demelza jumped and gave a small cry. Ross continued to kiss her neck and her shoulders, but Demelza took a few steps to find a dishcloth to dry the plates and left him empty-handed.

_'Is something the matter, Demelza?'_ He asked. She smiled at him answering: _'No, nothing Ross. Why don’t you go to lie down? You must be tired from the trip.'_

_'Very well,'_ he said, _'do not take long.'_

Demelza smiled at him, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Ross waited for her lying in their bed for a long time until he was finally overcome by tiredness and fell asleep. Demelza had been making herself busy downstairs, cleaning the kitchen and kneading dough for the bread for breakfast the next day. Luckily, when she got to the master bedroom, her husband was already asleep.

When Ross awoke in the morning, Demelza had already risen.

 

* * *

 

Clowance was still sleeping, and Ross could not find his wife again. “For Christ’s sake!” He did not know what was happening to her. The night before she’d been upset when he told her he had gone to see Jeremy on the way home. Demelza and him had argued about it years before.  At that moment he had let her get away with it but now it was about time the boy to spend some time away from his mother. Ross thought it would be good for both of them.  Jeremy seemed very happy at school, but apparently Demelza was not taking the separation so well.

It turns out that Demelza had found another excuse to be out of the house and had gone to take breakfast with Drake and Morwenna. She came back a little before noon. Meanwhile, Ross had left, rifle in hand, to hunt rabbits.

_'I wish you didn’t have to do that'_ \- she said when he entered the kitchen with three rabbits hanging from its ears.

_'Garrick doesn’t do the work anymore and fortunately, it’s one of the few jobs that you don’t want to do.'_

_'Well, keep them before Clowance sees them. She’s very susceptible to that kind of thing lately.'_

Ross went to hang the animals in the little room behind the kitchen and put the gun away, then he returned to where she was to wash his hands.

_'Drake and Morwenna send you their regards.'_ Demelza said as she began cutting the vegetables to make a stew.

_'How nice of them. So, you prefer to be with them and not at home with your husband...'_ \- he replied after a moment. Ross had leaned against the table and was watching her while she worked.

_'Ross, I didn’t... I had already promised that I would go to breakfast with them and help Morwenna with the cottage. Her time is almost here already and she can’t move easily.'_

_'Even so, I think they would have understood if you had sent word to them saying that you could not go today because I am here. I think you're avoiding me.'_

_'Ross that is not...'_ \- Demelza tried to interrupt him.

_'Do you realize that I have returned home, after almost two months of not seeing my wife, and not even a kiss have you given me?'_

_'Ross!'_ \- Exclaimed a voice from the door.

Before Demelza could answer, Dwight appeared in the kitchen.

_'Dwight, my friend.'_ \- The men shook hands and then embraced and patted each other on the back. Demelza tried to compose herself, what Ross had told her had dazed her. Dwight came up to her and kissed her on each cheek. It did not go unnoticed to Demelza how Ross watched them as they greeted each other.

Ross signaled to Dwight to sit at the table. He sat down in front of him after bringing a bottle of brandy from the cabinet. Demelza brought them two glasses.

_'I'm glad you're here Ross,'_ \- he said smiling at Demelza - _'maybe now you can help me with my babysitting duties while our wives are going to fix the world.'_

_'Oh?'_ \- Ross said bewildered.

_'I still haven’t had a chance to tell him, Dwight.'_ \- Demelza told the doctor.

_'Ah. Surely you must have had to catch up on other matters.’_ Dwight offered as an excuse and saw Demelza blush. Ross took a long drink of his glass. _'Well, let me have the pleasure of informing you that your wife and mine have started with the charity fundraising that they’ve been talking about for the last few months.'_

Ross looked back perplexed at his friend and then at his wife who was blushing more and more as Dwight spoke.

_'They have got some sponsors and the tea parties, I have to tell you, are a success. And the help is very well received and so needed in these times...'_

The doctor continued to praise the solidarity of the women and how the purchase of food and fruits thanks to the fundraising had helped to prevent the last outbreak of fever among the poorest families. Meanwhile, Ross watched Demelza move from one place to the other preparing lunch and occasionally smiling or responding to Dwight's comments.

To Ross this whole thing, though it did not surprise him too much knowing his wife and Caroline, did not please him at all. The idea was not new, something similar had already been done a few years back, when the harsh winter and high prices claimed several lives among those who had less. But neither had he liked the thought of Demelza continuing to ask for money nor the fact that she was so long away from home.

After lunch, Ross went with Dwight to Wheal Grace where he spent the afternoon catching up on the news and going through the new tunnels. Apparently, since he had left, Demelza had ordered to explore two new veins and one of them had shown to be rich in tin and looked very promising. He decided that when he returned to Nampara he would talk to her, even if she didn’t want it to.

 

* * *

 

Demelza had been dazed by what Ross had said or implied before Dwight arrived, that she had not wanted to kiss him since he’d come home. In part he was right, she had been distant with him. But not because she wanted to, if not quite the opposite. Because she missed him too much and he would be there for a few days and then he would be gone as if nothing. She would be alone again, so why bother? Besides, she was still upset about Jeremy and about the fact that he could go visit him and she could not. And surely when he returned from the mine he would scold her for not telling him about the charity meetings. He would tell her that he did not agree with it and that she should stop doing it.

Demelza was in the library answering letters when Ross came back from the mine.

_'Demelza?'_ \- She heard him calling.

_'I'm here Ross.'_

Ross cautiously entered the room. Demelza was sitting behind the desk with a quill in her hand and a pile of papers in front of her. Her hair was loose.

_'Have you found everything in order?'_ She asked while writing a line. Ross walked around the desk and slowly reached down and kissed her forehead. Demelza looked up in surprise, and Ross turned around and sat on the other side in front of her, the desk standing between them.

_'In Grace?' -_ Ross said finally- _'Yes. In my home? I don’t know, because I have no idea what’s going on with my wife.'_

Demelza remained silent. _'What have I done now? Why are you mad at me?'_

_'I'm not mad at you Ross.'_

_'And so?  Is it because of Jeremy? We had already talked about that and we both agreed that it was the best...'_

Demelza put her quill down on the desk.

_'I know. But I still miss him. I had never been separated from him for so long and he was always with me...'_

_'Clowance is here.'_

_'Oh yes, but she's different. Jeremy... Jeremy is a Poldark, I mean, he's your son and the owner of this house and he reminds me of you when you're not here. And now not only you are not here, neither is he. And the house feels empty...'_

A tear had escaped her lashes and fell on Demelza's cheek. Ross got up suddenly and went to kneel beside her, took her hands but let the tear fall.

_'You are the owner of this house and you are also a Poldark.'_

_'Oh Ross, you don’t understand.'_ Demelza released her hands and wrapped her arms around her husband's shoulders to hold him close to her. Finally, she kissed him. Her wet lips caressing Ross's hungry lips. He took her by the waist hugging her, glad to finally have her in his arms.

Almost out of breath Ross asked her, brushing her mouth with his: _'What is it I do not understand?'_

_'Nothing Ross. You understand nothing.'_

Demelza continued kissing his lips, his cheeks, his nose. Her hands caressing his head, fingers tangled in his curls. After a while, Ross stood up and took her hand, dragging her toward the door. _'I'm old, my ankle hurts. We better go to bed’_

Demelza wanted to protest, she still had a lot of things to do before the end of the day, but she only made a sound. Ross turned to look at her and smiled, that wicked half-smile typical of her husband that she used to imagine when she thought of him. Demelza just squeezed his hand and Ross pulled her back to follow him.

 

* * *

 

The room was silent. The last rays of daylight came through the window and created strange shadows on the furniture. As soon as Demelza closed the door Ross was next to her, his lips again on her neck and on her mouth, his hands pressing her hips against him. Absently she noticed that Ross reached behind her and put the latch on the door. "It was not fair" she thought. It was not fair that she wanted him so much, that she loved him so much. She wanted him with her all the time, she wanted him in her. She wanted to feel his weight on her body, wanted to see his face while he loved her.

Demelza started tugging at Ross's shirt, and Ross laughed, his breath tickling on her neck. _'Lie down dear, you worry too much.'_

Demelza sat on the edge of the bed and watched him quickly remove his boots, vest and shirt. In the distance she heard the sound of the world, but in there they were only the two of them. Ross came back to stand in front of her, and she put her hands on his waist and gave him a kiss on his naked torso. _'I miss you'_ \- she said without looking at him and Ross raised her face with just a finger and brushed her lips with his tongue. Then he gently pushed her towards the mattress.

 

* * *

 

Ross didn’t know how long he had been sleeping, he woke up because he felt someone kiss his forehead. When he opened his eyes he saw Demelza, already dressed, lying on the sheets next to him. Ross loudly stretched his body, he seemed to have slept for hours.

_'Dinner will be ready soon.'_ said Demelza. He sat leaning on the back of the bed, yawning and spreading out both arms over his head, then he reached his wife to lean her head against his chest.

_'I've already satiated my appetite.'_ He commented caressing Demelza's hair, which he noticed was not as long as usual. _'You cut your hair.'_ \- he added.

_'Mmmh?... Oh, yes. It was dry at the tips and Caroline and Lady Boscawen advised me to cut it.  They said it would grow healthier and stronger.'_

_'You didn’t tell me in any of your letters.'_

_'Ross, it's hardly worth mentioning now. Less is it a matter of interest in a letter.'_

_'It matters to me.'_ Ross said, winding a lock of red hair on one of his fingers.

_'You do not like it?'_. Demelza sat up next to him so that Ross could see her well. The hair that usually reached her waist now barely covered half of her back and made her face look chubbier.

_'It will grow.'_ Ross told her after looking at her closely. Demelza pinched his stomach.

_'One would say that an appropriate subject to write in a letter would be about these parties that you and Caroline organize.'_ \- He said when he stopped laughing. Demelza became serious.

_'They are not “parties” Ross. They are meetings. And I did not tell you because I knew you would not understand.'_

_'Let’s see, tell me now. Because what I don’t understand is why you prefer to spend time with these pretentious women and not in your own home.'_

_'It is not like that. For starters, there's not much to do here. Without you and now without Jeremy there is not much work in the house. Zacky runs the mine very well and only needs me when important decisions have to be made or when it is payday. And here Prudie manages… did you notice Tholly?'_

_'Yes, I saw him here when I arrived.'_

_'Well, Tholly is not as lazy as Jud was and Prudie has him here and there, working in the fields or doing errands…'_

_'Pfff... I don’t think that will last long.'_

_'Yes, me neither, but in the meantime they've saved me a lot of work. And you know how Clowance likes Caroline's babies, so now that the girls can be separated from their mother for longer, Caroline wanted to do something to distract her from motherhood duties.'_

_'And Dwight takes care of the girls?'_

_'He likes it.'_ \- Demelza clarified cheerfully.

Ross laughed sarcastically, which earned him another pinch. _'You still didn’t get to the part about the parties.'_

_'Oh, they are not parties! Well, it's something we've been talking with Caroline for a while now. You know, how we both lost our girls... and, well...'_

Seeing her distress, Ross covered her hands with his. He had not realized that this was something that had to do with Julia.

_'...well, neither of us would like another mother to have to go through that. And, while Julia’s and Sarah’s diseases could not have been prevented, there are others that can. Oh Ross, if you saw the conditions in which some children live, without food or shelter to spend the winter.'_

_'I know, dear.'_

_'So, with Caroline we decided to help. And to ask other women if they wanted to help too. It was Lady Boscawen who gave us the idea of the tea meetings. She told us that most of the wives of important men are bored of being in their homes and would be willing to collaborate more if we gave them something in return.'_ Demelza seemed to conclude her story, but Ross still did not understand.

_'And what do you give them in return?'_

Demelza laughed before answering. _'Tea. Cakes and gossips.'_

Ross hugged her again and kissed her forehead laughing too.

 

* * *

 

Later, in the middle of the night, Ross woke up again. Demelza was standing by the window. She had lit a candle that rested on the sill and had opened one of the window glasses. She had wrapped her arms around her body. Ross watched her for a while without saying anything until she sighed and he realized she was crying.

_'Love, what is it?'_

_'Oh, I'm sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.'_ \- she replied, drying the tears on her cheeks with the sleeve of her nightgown.

_'What's wrong Demelza? You have been acting strange since I arrived.'_

Demelza took the candle and returned to sit on her side of the bed, placed the candle on the table but did not turn it off.

_'Nothing Ross. ‘Tis nothing. Everything is fine.'_

Ross sat up on the bed, too.

_'Look at me Demelza, do you think I do not realize when something happens to you?'_

She remained motionless for a while watching the flame of the candle dance with the breeze of the air that came in through the window. _'You will leave. Now that you have what you came for, you will go. And I'll stay here alone, without Jeremy and without you. And you don’t care…'_

_'Hey, hey.'_ Ross knelt on the bed and approached his wife hugging her from behind. _'I do care.'_ he said with his lips touching her neck. _'I care a lot.'_ \- he repeated.

Demelza shook her head, but bent her body to rest her back against her husband's solid torso. Ross kept holding her while she continued to sob, kissing the base of her neck from time to time.

_'You know? I lied to you.'_ He said after Demelza had calmed down a bit.

She turned her body to watch him. _'About what?'_ She asked curiously.

_'About the voting. It wasn’t earlier, it is still next week.'_

_'But... but then why did you come back sooner?'_

_'Because I missed you too, dear. And I couldn’t bear another day without seeing you.'_

Demelza looked at him as if he were speaking an unknown language. Her green eyes reddened with tears, large and surprised. Ross could not resist the temptation to kiss her.

_'Don’t tease me, Ross.'_ \- she said more animated later.

_'I do not, it's the truth. So you can imagine my disappointment when I came home wanting to see my wife and you were not here. And you're right about that Caroline’s charity thing, I do not like you going around asking for money...'_

_'Wait Ross,'_ \- Demelza interrupted - _'do not change the subject. Go back, go back to the part where you said you missed me.'_

They both laughed. Ross took her face in his hands and kissed her again. Then he opened the sheets and the two of them went back to bed hugging each other underneath. Ross played with her hair again. _'Maybe you can come back with me to London after the break. We could leave Jeremy on the way so you can see the school.'_

_'To London? After the last time?'_

_'It will only be a couple of months until the end of the sessions. Maybe we could see houses to rent for next year. Also, I doubt you’ll have a lot of admirers when you’ll be waddling along like an old duck.'_

Ross moved one of his hands to the still thin waist of Demelza.

_'Ross! How? How do you know? I have not told anyone yet.'_

_'I told you. I know you. I know you more than I know myself, love. There is a certain brightness in your eyes. And your face... sometimes, when I think of you, I tell myself that you cannot be so pretty, that my mind plays tricks on me, but you are. You’re beautiful. And even more beautiful when you're pregnant... And besides, you never cry so much.'_

Demelza rested her head on Ross's chest, her eyes wet again.

_‘No one ever told me something so beautiful.'_ \- she said smiling.

_‘No one?'_

_‘No one.'_ \- assured Demelza. _'Ross? Why do you think we are like this?'_

_‘Like this how?'_

_'Different. In all the other marriages I know, even those that start with love, the affection fades away as the years go by but we...I… I love you more and more every day, Ross.'_

_'And I love you more every day, dear... Will you come to London with me?'_

_'Yes Ross.'_

_‘Good. That way I can keep an eye on you.'_ \- Ross said before kissing her again.

 


End file.
